To Be Wanted
by Luxuria De'Voire
Summary: Troubled with reoccurring visions, Tigress decides to go on her Master's Pilgrimage to unravel the mysteries behind her unsettling dreams. Somewhere along the way she is forced to travel with a white tigress thief, and ultimately she will find this journey to be the greatest challenge of her training thus far. To survive, she must face both her past and herself.
1. Chapter 1

Hey all you readers out there! It's good to be back on this site, and I FINALLY got around to writing this fic. I have always wanted to write a piece for Kung Fu Panda, and I've been playing around with this story for a while now. Didn't start it because I thought I should finish my other stories first, but WHAT THE HELL WHY NOT. So here's chapter one of _To Be Wanted._

I won't spoil anything of course :) but in general this story will be about Tigress's inner struggles, her relationship with both herself and the strangers she meets on her pilgrimage (especially a certain thief whom you shall meet soon~), and though she goes on the journey alone **the other masters and Po will join the story later!** I just love Po too much not to write about him :3.

Hope you all enjoy it, and feel free to post reviews good and bad and silly and idk whatever ya want~ I love the feedback, and you all really do rock my world.

Anyway, without further ado- Here's chapter ONE!

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 _Chapter I_

The buzz of a grasshopper hummed in Tigress's ears as it flew by. The wind followed ruffling the exposed fur of her strong arms and her face. With an inhale she tightened her focus on her surroundings, and with the exhale she let go. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale—repeat.

The kung fu master was perched in lotus pose on top of a smooth boulder. Oogway's peach tree could be seen in the distance and so could the village from atop the cliff-side. The sun was at high noon in the foggy sky.

Tigress's eyes were gently closed shut as she let her mind take the reins. Small bubbles of images floated in and out of the darkness of her mind causing her to tense up. True meditation allowed the mind to relax, empty itself entirely, and focus on nothing and yet everything around her, but lately her mind had been disobedient.

For almost two seasons meditation had become nearly impossible for her, and what made her more frustrated was that she didn't know why. Tigress rarely let her naturally wild temper take control, and it had been over a decade since she lost control of her emotions entirely. She was only a child then.

" _Focus, focus—inner peace. Inner peace, inner—god, if Po can do it so can I. Why. Is. This. So. Hard."_ she thought to herself as her brow furrowed. Her claws twitched as they rested on her crossed legs.

And with a huff, she let out all of the tension built up inside her. She proceeded to try again, but this time she let her mind take control.

" _Alright, head, where are you taking me? Whatever it is can it not wait til after—"_

Her thoughts trailed off as an image began to form in her mind.

Snow. It was dark, but there was definitely snow in front of her, and suddenly the vision became incredibly vivid. She was standing on what looked like a mountain side covered in snow and black stone. Even the cold wind rushed over her unpleasantly. Snowflakes began to amount in her thick fur, and her golden eyes glimmered in the darkness.

Tigress was at her mind's complete control. She began to simply observe as her body involuntarily moved forward trudging through the high snow. Her arms held each other to stay warm, and her eyes squinted to see through the snow storm.

In the distance, at the pointed peak, a blurred figure came into view.

It was a tree. An actual, living tree at this altitude—well, barely living. Though life clearly still showed itself through the russet bark, few leaves remained on the small thing.

Tigress's eyes gazed upward at it as she pushed through the blizzard to reach it. Her bones began to ache and her vision tunneled for a moment—she assumed her body in the real world was reaching its limit.

" _Come on, almost there."_

Just as the thought left her mind her left foot slipped and she dropped into the snow. She shook off the fall and tried to stand. Something felt heavy on her back though. She tried to push up but she couldn't.

Growling to herself, she proceeded to crawl using her claws to pull herself towards the tree. When she was finally close enough to where the tree was no longer covered by the white-out, she looked up. Her eyes widened and her pupils thickened.

Whipping around in the monstrous wind of the storm was a red scarf tied around the tree. Tigress tried to get closer, but the invisible weight was too much for her now and her vision blurred again.

Luckily the wind calmed for a moment long enough for her to look at the scarf again. The sides of the beautiful fabric were covered in black and gold designs, but on the end of one of the tails caught her eye.

Sewn into the crimson threads was a circular, white symbol of a tiger chasing its tail. In the stitched tiger's mouth was a bright blue orb, and as Tigress stared into the green eye of the tiger she found herself feeling dizzy.

Her arms gave way and she collapsed into the snow. The cold smacked her face and suddenly she couldn't breathe.

Panic overcame her. She struggled in the snow to no avail as darkness surrounded her. She squinted her eyes and let out a fearful roar.

"AAah—!"

Her eyes shot open as the shout left her mouth. Sweat beaded around her brow, and her panting produced small puffs of air to appear in front of her.

Breathing in deeply twice, she recomposed herself before letting her head sink into her paws. She gritted her fangs,

"What the hell was that all about…?" she mumbled to herself.

Her tail flicked back and forth sporadically, the way a cat's does when it's agitated.

She sighed and a sad expression appeared on her covered face.

"Tigress!"

The female tiger looked up from her paws only to be face to face with the big, wide-eyed face of Po.

She fumbled backwards with a gasp. This caused Po's giant grin to fade,

"Whoa, sorry. I didn't mean to, you know, interrupt the zone."

"It's fine, Po, what did you need?"

"Oh, uh, I noticed you weren't at morning training or lunch, so I made you some extra noodles to have later if you want. Aaaand Shifu was looking for you." The panda twiddled his thumbs.

"T-Thank you, Po. I was actually—"

Tigress didn't have a chance to finish her sentence because Po gasped so loudly it broke her train of thought. He looked at the kung fu master with eyes as wide as saucers. Tigress tensed up and made a face.

"Oh—oh my god, I actually scared you."

She blinked.

"What—"

"I SCARED TIGRESS!" he bellowed gleefully for all to hear before running back to the palace.

Tigress remained seated on the stone as she followed the panda with her eyes and ears. She could hear Po's chanting of "I scared Master Tigress" and a chain of victorious laughter as his comical, running figure disappeared into the distance.

Retracting her legs from the crossed position, she pulled her knee to her chest. She couldn't help the small grin that crept onto her 'hardcore' face. Po always cheered her up, whether she wanted to be cheered up or not. But the smile faded as quickly as it came.

The master turned her head downward at her open palm. Her brows furrowed with worry as she addressed herself,

"What are you trying to tell me…?"

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 _Thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you all have an incredible day! Peace and Good Vibes Always~_


	2. Chapter 2

Laughter erupted from the kitchen as Tigress walked by. Her stoic expression relaxing from the sound of her friends laughing. She wanted to turn around and join them, but she had other matters to attend to. She needed to find Shifu.

***inside the training hall***

"Inner peace... Inner peace..." Shifu hummed to himself as the candles around him flickered gently. His tail remained calm, his ears alert, and his eyes closed in meditation. Everything was perfect... until someone knocked on the door.

His ears flinched and he exhaled roughly, "Of course..."

Standing and making his way to the entrance, Shifu opened the large door. His eyes widened at the sight before him-Tigress, seeming distressed.

"Ah, Tigress. I wasn't expecting at this hour-"

"Master, forgive me, I must speak with you."

Shifu fell silent, having never seen his student so agitated and nervous. He paused for a moment, Tigress's head down, fist in one paw as a sign of respect for her master.

"Come."

Tigress and Shifu proceeded to have a seat in the center of the shrine with the candles surrounding them. The scent of sage filled the room, and smoke sweetly danced in the air.

"What is troubling you? You're not one to seek out help. Something to admire and discourage."

Tigress bowed her head, her paws firmly placed on either knee as she sat cross-legged.

She swallowed, looking away before replying.

"I've... I've been having visions, master."

"Visions?" Shifu's ears perked up.

The first thing he thought of was the words of Master Oogway. He had told Shifu this day would come. He had foretold correctly, but the older red panda still had his doubts.

Tigress continued,

"I keep seeing things. The same things, over and over. I think..."

The young tigress looked up with a worried expression.

"I think I need to go."

Silence fell between the two. Shifu sighed an elderly sigh. He was still amazed by Oogway's ability to foretell these certain things.

"There are no accidents," he mumbled to himself with a small smile. He couldn't help but smile thinking of his late master.

"Master?"

"Oogway left a message for you."

"Oogway?" Tigress straightened herself up in her sitting position, shocked by the news.

Shifu cleared his throat, "It is not the path for every master to take, but some cannot take any other path."

He reached over and lifted a burning incense to inspect it and the stream of smoke it emitted.

"Oogway foretold that you would feel driven to go on your pilgrimage. Tigress,"

"Master?"

"It is time for you to finish your training with me. You must go on your Master's Pilgrimage. It is your final lesson that I can teach you."

"But what about inner peace?"

"You are not ready for that step in your training." Shifu said bluntly.

Tigress held her head down a bit from his cold remark.

"But why didn't Po go on a pilgrimage? How has he mastered inner peace already?"

The master red panda frowned and sighed,

"Tigress, Po is... an enigma. To all of us. I don't know what I'm going to do with him."

The young tiger grinned slyly at this remark. Po was a mystery, that's for sure.

Clearing his throat, Shifu continued,

"But Po has also mastered something you have not, and it is your job, no, your destiny to master whatever that 'thing' is."

Tigress raised an eyebrow,

"Thing, master?"

Shifu rubbed his temples with both paws.

"Oh, I don't know. Oogway told me so many things in riddles, it's beyond me." He sighed and turned to face her,

"It is up to you to decide if you are ready for this step in your training. It seems your mind is telling you that it is time."

Tigress nodded, still unsure of her goal in this pilgrimage.

"The choice is yours. If you are not at class at dawn, then I will assume you have departed on your journey...or that you slept in."

A smile formed on the feline's face as she stood to bow.

"I won't disappoint you, master." she pressed her fist into her open palm.

Master Shifu returned the sign of respect.

Her tail flicked back and forth in excitement and nervousness as she left the training hall. As the door closed, Shifu's ears flattened a bit,

"Good luck, my student."

***Dawn, the next morning***

The sun still hid behind the hills of the valley leaving the sky a dark violet hue. The peach tree was beginning to bloom signaling the beginning of spring, and the mist formed lakes between hill tops. It was cold, but Tigress was up. Grabbing things to pack, and storing things she wouldn't be needing for a long while.

With a single bag quickly packed, Tigress was ready.

She gently opened the door to her room and made her way down the thin hallway. She hung her head and her ears went back.

 _"It's for the best,"_ She thought in regards to not saying goodbye to anyone. Tigress was never good with farewells, and preferred to leave soundlessly.

Oddly, though, she didn't even hear Po's snoring, but ignored it. _"I'm gonna miss him. Especially his homemade cooking."_

Making her way down the pathway from the living quarters, the young master took in her surroundings today more than ever. Unsure of when she would return, she wanted to remember her home. The only home she had ever truly had - the Jade Palace.

She had walked down the steps for what felt like flashing moments they had gone by so fast until she reached the main gate. She even stopped for a moment, tail flicking back and forth in nervousness. Tigress had never felt this sort of unsettling emotion, not since she left to train for another master one time for a short period. She knew this was home, and she knew that she must make this journey-alone. She was a loner, but she was also protective of her master and her friends.

But she had to do this. On her own.

She pulled open the giant gate door, and her eyes widened.

Standing there, grouped together, were her friends. Mantis, Monkey, Viper, Crane, and Po. All together, yawning sleepily, but the yawns turned into smiles.

"Didn't think we'd wish you a goodbye now did ya?" Mantis chimed as he jumped onto Crane's hat.

"Guys, she's stunned! Look at her face, aww" Viper couldn't help but lovingly tease her friend.

Crane came forward and placed a wing on her shoulder, "I'll, uh, miss your scary glares during training. And your love for spicy white sauce during food breaks."

This remark caused the feline to grin sheepishly. She placed a paw on the opposite wing in respect, and then turned to Po. Her, secretly, best friend. SHe cleared her throat, about to say something chummy before a pair of arms swung around her.

Her eyes widened as she was scooped into a big hug. Monkey's jaw dropped, as did the other's at the way Tigress was allowing this to happen.

Po held her tight before setting her down,

"Good luck out there. Master." Po bowed his head, fist in palm.

The others followed in suit, and Tigress...Tigress couldn't have been happier. She didn't show it, of course, but she was happy.

After sharing some more comments and "good luck"'s, Tigress waved as she made her way down the steps of the Jade Palace. Her tail flicked in excitement now, and she was ready. Ready for her Master's Pilgrimage.

Without any words spoken,


End file.
